L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano M aria Coassin is passion- ate about gelato. Not just its creamy texture, distinctive flavorings or even the specialty ingredients she imports f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d : Madagascar vanilla, Sicilian pis- tachios, couverture chocolate from Tanzania. Coassin loves the science of it. As the founder of Gelatiamo, Seattle's first gelateria, Coassin revels in the precise balance that must exist among solids, liquids and air to make the perfect gela- to. "Gelato is not a casual food endeavor," she said. "Attention to detail is absolute: time, tem- p e r a t u r e , h u m i d i t y . Y o u a r e b r i n g i n g i n g r e d i e n t s i n t o a n environment they are not used to—a frozen environment. How do you keep the gelato soft? W h a t m a k e s i t s c o o p - a b l e ? Want to add a liqueur? Then you have to lower the freezing point. You need to know your chem- i s t r y a n d y o u r m a t h . I t ' s a process that fascinates me to no end." Coassin, a native of Maniago in northeastern Italy, dedicated years to learning the art and sci- ence of gelato-making before opening Gelatiamo in 1996. A bubbly, energetic person, she created her business name by c o m b i n i n g " g e l a t o " w i t h " t i amo" (I love you). " W h e n a n I t a l i a n h e a r s Gelatiamo, they know immedi- ately what it means even though it's a made-up word," she said. "It's saying: let's eat gelato!" The only girl in a family of s e v e n , C o a s s i n i s d e s c e n d e d from a long line of bakers, some 200 years of them. "The idea of starting a food business was always with me," she said, "but I did not know it would be in gela- to. My father put the idea in my head." Coassin met and married an A m e r i c a n s e r v i c e m a n a n d moved to California with him in 1992. The following year, they relocated to Seattle. "My father thought the west coast would be a good place for a gelateria," she said. "The eastern part of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where I am from, is famous for its gela- to. It's like Starbucks—one on every corner." Although intrigued by the idea, Coassin wanted to study it more. For three-and-a-half years, she researched both the opera- tions side, from equipment to marketing, and the creative side where she learned how to devel- op her own signature recipes. "My father connected me to some of the best gelato makers in Italy," she said. "One of them, Pino Scaringella, remains my m e n t o r t o d a y . F r o m t h e m , I learned the difference between making gelato and developing recipes. It's this knowledge that gives me an edge over almost everyone else in the business locally." During the research phase, Coassin traveled to Italy fre- quently, taking courses, serving apprenticeships, and getting her hands dirty, literally. "I learned every part of the business," she s a i d . " I s e r v e d t h e g e l a t o , I cleaned the tables, I swept the f l o o r s . F a i l u r e w a s n o t a n option. If I was going to invest my life savings and my family's support as well, I had to suc- ceed." One day, Coassin saw a story on TV about a building tile that h a d c r a s h e d t o t h e s i d e w a l k below. Although the structure was half-hidden by scaffolding, she could see the building was on a corner with windows on two sides, had a southwest expo- sure and enjoyed a wide side- walk perfect for outdoor seating. "I immediately thought: that's my shop! It had everything I needed." In 1996, downtown Seattle was still a bit rough around the edges. "Gelatiamo is located at Third and Union, but I used to call it Third and Hell," Coassin joked. Not only did she have to contend with drug dealers and dirty syringes, but also with cus- tomers who had no idea what she was selling. " P e o p l e t h o u g h t i t w a s a cream cheese spread for bagels," said Coassin. "Others thought it had something to do with Jell-O. It was a real education process." Luckily, within a few years, both the neighborhood and the sophistication level improved. B e n a r o y a H a l l , h o m e t o t h e Seattle Symphony, opened a b l o c k a w a y a n d t h e u p s c a l e restaurant Wild Ginger moved in across the street. Today, the area RITA CIPALLA Gelatiamo: Bringing the tantalizing taste of authentic gelato to Puget Sound is full of shops, restaurants and plenty of customers who know a good gelato when they taste one. There are 100 recipes in the Gelatiamo repertoire; 16 of them are featured daily, each made fresh, from scratch, in small batches. Coassin creates each recipe herself, using the best ingredients, such as seasonal fruit, organic milk and specialty in g r ed ien ts f r o m ar o u n d th e globe. Not surprisingly, chocolate is a top-seller, followed by coconut and stracciatella. Although the classical flavors remain popular, Coassin continues to pioneer new recipes. She's used local lavender, honey, rhubarb, even a hint of mojito. With Pike Place Brewery, she created a chocolate stout gelato, and with Elysian B r e w e r y , s h e ' s m a d e Punkucchino, a pumpkin, coffee a n d b e e r g e l a t o t h a t ' s a f a l l favorite. Gelatiamo also offers cakes, cookies and pastries using tradi- tional recipes handed down from the Coassin family of bakers. "There is not another shop in town that offers the variety of desserts that I do," said Coassin. "I was trained in my family's bakery so I focus on northern Italian recipes. I don't have can- noli or sfogliatella like they make in Sicily. That is not my heritage." The shop sells beautifully decorated gelato cakes in a vari- ety of flavors and sizes, and semifreddo and gelato novelties, s u c h a s b o n b o n s a n d g e l a t o pops. Her team of 24 is busy every day creating products for both retail and wholesale cus- tomers. Last year, she acquired a new production facility in south S e a t t l e t o a c c o m m o d a t e h e r expanding commercial sales, which make up half of her busi- ness. Knowing your ingredients and keeping that perfect balance might be the key to making a great gelato, but for Coassin, being able to bring a little bit of h e r h o m e t o w n t o d o w n t o w n S e a t t l e m a k e s i t e v e n m o r e worthwhile. Maria Coassin, owner of Gelatiamo in downtown Seattle, spent years learning the art and science of making authentic Italian gelato SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY To accommodate Gelatiamo's growing commercial trade, owner Maria Coassin recently acquired a 2,400 square foot facility in south Seattle--plenty of space for offices, kitchen staff and two large walk-in freezers

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